How do I edit music information?

Editing the metadata of digital music files is the process of modifying information like the artist name, track title, album, genre, release date, and other details that are associated with an audio file. Having accurate and complete metadata is important for both listeners and artists in the digital music age. For listeners, metadata allows songs to be accurately organized in a music library. With correct info like artist, album and genre, songs will appear correctly in playlists, recommendations and radio stations. For artists, comprehensive metadata ensures they get proper credit for their work. Digital stores and streaming services rely on metadata to correctly identify and compensate artists.

This guide will provide an overview of the main ways metadata can be edited for digital music files. We’ll cover using built-in software like Windows Explorer, dedicated metadata editing tools, mobile apps, and automation techniques. Properly tagging music files helps create a better listening experience and ensures artists get recognized for their work.

Editing ID3 Tags

ID3 tags contain metadata about an audio file such as the song title, artist, album, etc. They are stored within an MP3 or other audio file. The most common ID3 tag version for MP3 files is ID3v2.3 which supports a variety of common tag fields like title, artist, album, track number, genre, year, etc.

To view and edit ID3 tags, you can use music library software like iTunes or Windows Media Player. These programs allow you to view and edit common tag fields for one or multiple files. For example in iTunes you can select a song, get info, and edit the title, artist, album and other tag fields. These changes will be saved directly within the audio file’s ID3 tags.

There are also dedicated tag editor programs that provide advanced ID3 tag editing options. These tools allow you to batch edit tags, clean up issues like typos, or add custom art work. Popular MP3 tag editors include Tag&Rename, MP3Tag, and Kid3.

When editing ID3 tags, focus on fixing any issues in the key fields like song title, artist, album, genre, and year. Proper tagging helps organize your music library and allows you to easily search, browse, and sort your music collection.

Using Music Library Software

There are several music library software options for editing ID3 tags on your music files. Some popular options include:

MediaMonkey – This software allows you to edit tags and organize your music library. It has automatic tagging and syncing features. The free version has some limitations.

MusicBee – MusicBee is a free music library software with advanced tagging and organization features. It allows bulk editing tags and album art.
iTunes – The default music app for Mac has full tag editing capabilities and options to add album art. Syncing to iOS devices is seamless.
Foobar2000 – This lightweight and customizable app is popular with DJs. The tag editor has advanced functions like regular expressions.

The main benefits of using dedicated music library software are the advanced tagging functions, bulk editing capabilities, and automatic syncing. They provide more complete control over your music metadata compared to basic apps. The downside is their complexity compared to simpler players.

Editing in Windows Explorer

Windows includes a built-in tag editor that allows you to edit common music metadata like artist, album, title, genre, year, etc. directly in File Explorer. Here are the steps to edit music tags using this method:

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the music file you want to edit. Enable viewing file details by going to View > Options > Change folder and search options.

2. Under the View tab, check ‘File name extensions’ and uncheck ‘Hide protected operating system files’. Click Apply.

3. Right click the music file and select Properties. Go to the Details tab.

4. Here you can edit the Title, Artist, Album, Year and other tags. Make your changes and click OK to save.

5. You can edit multiple files at once by selecting them all and changing the details. The changes will apply to all selected files.

This method provides an easy way to edit tags without installing additional software. However, the tag editing capabilities are limited compared to more full-featured tag editors.

Using MP3 Tag Tools

MP3 tag editors allow you to view and edit the metadata tags of your music files. Some popular free MP3 tag editor apps include:

MusicBrainz Picard (GNU General Public License) – Picard can automatically scan your music library and retrieve metadata from MusicBrainz’s database. You can also manually look up and edit tags. It’s available on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Mp3tag (Freeware) – Mp3tag allows viewing and editing ID3v1, ID3v2, APEv2, Vorbis Comments and MPC tags. It can automatically rename files based on tags and import cover art. Mp3tag runs on Windows.

To use an MP3 tag editor, simply add music files or folders containing your music library. The software will scan the files and display the metadata. Make any edits to missing or incorrect tags like artist, album, title, genre, etc. When done, save the changes and they will be written to the actual files.

MP3 tag editors provide an efficient way to fix poorly tagged music files. They give you more control than manually editing file info in Windows Explorer.

Editing on Your Phone/Device

You can edit the metadata tags for music files directly on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device using the built-in music apps or third party apps.

The Apple Music app on iOS devices allows you to edit some basic metadata like the song title, artist name, album name, genre, and year. You can tap on a song in your library, go to the Song Info screen, and make edits to the tags. The changes will sync across your other Apple devices through iCloud.

On Android, apps like Google Play Music and Samsung Music also let you make basic edits to song information. In Google Play Music, you can tap the 3-dot menu on a song and select “Edit info”.

For more advanced editing, third party apps like TuneShell (iOS), MP3dit (Android), and StarMusicTagEditor (Android) allow you to modify track numbers, album art, composer, playlist info, and much more. These give you better control compared to the built-in music players.

According to this article, some ID3 tag editor apps may not fully support the metadata fields in iTunes or Apple Music, so it’s ideal to use a dedicated ID3 tag editor on your computer for comprehensive metadata management.

Fixing Common Issues

There are two main types of issues that commonly arise with music metadata – typos and formatting problems, and missing or incorrect data.

Typos can occur when metadata is entered manually, especially with artist names, song titles, and album information. The best way to fix these is to double check the accuracy of any metadata you enter by comparing it against the official release details, lyric sites, or databases like MusicBrainz.

For formatting problems, it’s important to follow standards and be consistent. Artist names should be in Title Case, song titles in Title Case or ALL CAPS, and album titles in Title Case. Dates should follow YYYY-MM-DD format. Pay attention to punctuation and spacing as well.

Regarding missing or incorrect data, this can happen when tags are stripped or not populated fully. Reference the original release details and fill in any blank fields. Cross-check questionable entries against databases like AllMusic and MusicBrainz to verify and fix errors.

Using an automated metadata lookup tool like Mp3tag can help find and populate missing fields by querying online databases. These tools can also help standardize formatting across your library.

Finally, double check that your changes sync across devices and listening apps to prevent future inconsistencies.

Automating Music Tagging

There are a variety of automation tools available to help speed up the process of editing or adding metadata tags to your music library. These tools can analyze the audio files and automatically look up and fill in the correct ID3 tag information.

Some popular options for automating music tagging include:
Automatic Tag Editor for Android, Automatic Tag Editor for Android, and Wondershare UniConverter. These tools can scan through your files and pull metadata from online databases to accurately tag your songs.

Automation works best if your files already have some existing tag data or your library follows common naming conventions. It may struggle with obscure artists or tracks with non-standard names. You’ll get the most accurate results if you do some manual tagging first for a few tracks to “train” the software.

Overall, automation can greatly speed up large tagging projects and help ensure consistency. But expect to still manually review and fix some tags, especially for custom or niche tracks.

Syncing Changes Across Devices

Once you’ve made edits to your music metadata, it’s important to ensure those changes sync across all your devices and music apps. Here are some tips for keeping edits consistent everywhere:

Many music library software options like Music Gateway and Vampr have built-in syncing features. When you edit music info through these programs on one device, the changes can automatically propagate to all your linked devices and accounts. Enable syncing in your music software settings.

For iOS devices, edit music metadata directly in the Apple Music app or use a dedicated tag editor app. The changes should sync across your iPhone, iPad, and Mac when connected to the same Apple ID.

On Android, editing tags in local music files will update the info in apps like Google Play Music when synced. Many third-party Android apps like MP3Tag can also directly edit music files stored in cloud services like Google Drive.

Use a service like Last.fm or Discogs to update music metadata. Connect your music accounts to these services, then any edits made on Last.fm/Discogs will carry over.

Manually edit tags before uploading songs to cloud music lockers like Amazon Music, YouTube Music, etc. This ensures any new additions reflect recent metadata changes.

Overall, choose music software and services that emphasize consistent syncing. Automated syncing eliminates manual work and reduces chances of metadata inconsistencies.

Conclusion

In summary, there are several ways to edit music metadata on your computer, smartphone, or other devices. The most common options include using designated music library software like iTunes or MediaMonkey, the built-in metadata editor in Windows Explorer, standalone MP3 tag editors, and the music apps on your phone.

Key things to keep in mind when editing music metadata include properly formatting the title, artist, album, genre, year, track number, album artwork, and other relevant tags. Proper formatting and organization of your music library enables you to easily search, sort, and find music files. Maintaining clean metadata also ensures consistency across different apps and devices.

To learn more about best practices for editing music metadata, refer to the AFEM Music Metadata Best Practices Guide. You can also find additional resources on properly formatting and syncing metadata in the Collection: Music Metadata & SEO.